The 9/11 deal helps the White House.

[genius]

The commission agreed to call no further White House staff members. Also Bush and Cheney don't have to speak under oath so they can't be nailed for perjury. That means that Rice can lie all she wants and they can't call anyone to contradict her. Does anyone really believe we will get any honest testimony from her? The commission is just for show anyway. It's not asking why normal procdures were not followed. If they had been, the jets would not have even hit the WTC.

[slor]

And if this fact gets out...

you will see why it actually hurts rather than "helps" the white house. I for one, will sing this fact, until people cannot stand hearing it any longer.

[seabeyond]

1. rice is going to be a nothing

and 9/11 commission isnt going to ask anything but polite question. she will ramble on and then they will say what a good job she did. nothing to hide and so forthcoming. then the people in u.s. will say, why did democrats make such a big deal

is what i see

[Atman]

2. Agreed

Remember, the criticism long ago was that by being a 50/50 dem/rep split, they don't ever actually have to agree or "find" anything. Back then, Bush designed the commission to disband after 18 months, regardless of whether or not they had reached any conclusions. THIS was the first attempt at stonewalling (if you don't count the delay in seating the commission in the first place). Then, he was forced to extend it when that began to look bad for him.

He has no intention of having this commission find anything. Rice will face four republicans who will fawn all over her and tell her what a brave, heroic public servant she is. The four dems will spout some sound bites for the news programs, but they won't ask anything tough. Like whether she thought it was a good idea to have the pResident of the United States sit and read The Pet Goat for twenty minutes while thousands perished.

[hedda_foil]

3. Actually, they promised not to call them to public hearings.

They didn't back down on private hearings.

[The Night Owl]

4. We should have known something was fishy...

We should have known something was fishy when Republicans started protesting a bit too much that the Bush administration was making a "blunder" by not having Rice testify before the 9/11 commission.

That reminds me... I might be wrong on this, but I noticed that Republicans have used strikingly similar language when commenting that Rice should testify before the 9/11 commission. If we could compare those Republican comments, we might be able to expose talking points the Republicans are regurgitating to keep the focus on Rice and off Smirk.

[Warren Stuart]

5. What did you expect them to do?

The problem for Bush is that this is exactly what people expect from him. This reinforces an image, and not a very good one at that.

This also brings closure to the issue of whether or not they will face an honest inquiry. Which ironically will put more pressure on Rice, who is not known for handling pressure very well.

This is the most that you can expect from them, and yes one can expect her to dissemble without fear of contradiction. But still, Richard Clarke laid out an airtight case. She has a lot of explaining to do. And not many good answers.

[pinkpops]

6. Sometime in the future when someone wants Rove or Scooter

Libby to testify about something (like Libby re the Energy Task Force for example) the admin will be able to be indignant about how they bent over backwards, even had the NSA testify for God's sake.

[H2O Man]

7. Now, as patriotic Americans,

none of us consider the 9-11 hearings to be "political." But if they were, then I'd say that the bush administration was hurt from them, and will not recover with Condom Rice's testimony. Remember, in a tough election contest, you do not look to win every battle by a "shut-out." You look to win most of the battles, to avoid being hurt, and to add injury upon injury to your opponent. The bush administration was counting on a bloody, vicious democratic primary, with a wounded candidate emerging. Didn't happen! Kerry is doing well enough that we have reason to be confident: IF WE WORK HARD, WE WIN!!! And this non-political commission is playing a huge role.

[progressiverealist]

8. of course it helps the white house... Rove simply does not make mistakes

on major calls like this.

[rucky]

9. was that deal made UNDER OATH?

screw what they say. the commission can subpoena who they want & if the executives don't like it, they can fight it through the regular channels JUST LIKE CLINTON had to do.

[spanone]

10. The commission in accepting this said they hadn't planned any more WH

staff members to testify.

[BabsSong]

11. The report is due out on the first day of the Dem convention...you decide

who will get hurt!! Between the two sides they will just give a "booooring report" blaming all sides. But because it's coming out opn day 1 of our big day, we will get shit for press coverage. Score ONE for the Bush side...again!! They ain't dumb, you know.